Program Requirements

Students in the Ph.D. program receive core education in each of microeconomics, macroeconomics, econometrics, and quantitative methods, and take qualifying exams after first year courses. In the second year, students specialize and delve into research with a second-year paper requirement. In the third year, students typically finish specializations and work more intensively on research, culminating in a third-year paper requirement. The fourth year is devoted to research and to pass the comprehensive oral exam (dissertation proposal). During the fifth year, students polish their job market paper, develop additional research papers, go on the Ph.D. job market, and work to finish their dissertation. Here are some more details.

In addition to meeting general College and University requirements, all Ph.D. students in economics complete the following requirements. (Students who started in Fall 2017 and earlier have somewhat different requirements.)

Coursework and Qualifying Exams

Complete core courses in economic theory and quantitative methods

Mathematics and Quantitative Training: Econ 800 and Econ 816

Microeconomics: Econ 801 and Econ 802

Macroeconomics: Econ 810 and Econ 811

Econometrics: Econ 817 and Econ 818

Pass written qualifying exams in microeconomics and macroeconomics after first year, and demonstrate competence in econometrics (evidenced by a combined GPA of 3.0 in Econ 817 and Econ 818)

Specialize in two (or more) fields in economics by completing two courses in each field

Complete three additional elective courses

Papers

Pass second-year paper requirement by end of fourth semester (second year) of study

Pass third-year paper requirement by end of sixth semester (third year) of study

Dissertation

Pass comprehensive oral examination (dissertation proposal) by end of eighth semester (fourth year) of study. It is strongly recommended that a student pass this exam by the end of the seventh semester.

Pass final oral examination (dissertation defense)

Additionally,

Ph.D. students enroll in Econ 910 (after passing qualifying exams) and attend weekly department research seminars for 6 continuous semesters or until graduation (whichever is earlier)

Ph.D. students are required to have training in research skills and responsible scholarship pertinent to economics research. Enrollment in one semester of Econ 910 and successfully completing the third year paper requirement satisfies these requirements

The expected typical timeline for a Ph.D. in economics is as follows.

News / Events

Professor Comolli’s paper Migration, FDI, and Welfare is featured on the International Atlantic Economic Society homepage, in the “Highlights from our journals” section. View page »

New Graduate Student Scholarship - Established in memory of Professor Shu Wu. More info »